UAE Tour: Sam Bennett wins stage 4

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Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-QuickStep) came out on top in a thrilling sprint to win stage 4 of the UAE Tour. The Irishman, who missed out on a stage last year, was perfectly led out by his team in a chaotic finale and squeezed through on the inside to win ahead of David Dekker (Jumbo-Visma) and Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal).

Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) hit the front early but faded in the final 75m meters and was forced to settle for a place in the top 10.

In the race for the overall, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) retained his overall lead over Adam Yates (Ineos Grenadiers).

Bennett’s turn of speed was decisive, but he owed much of his win to teammate Michael Mørkøv. The Dane was one of the few lead-out men still in the frame with around 500m to go and he closed an initial gap to Cees Bol (Team DSM) on the right hand side before Bennett made use of the draft and cut through on the opposite side of the road.

His trajectory gave him the shortest distance to the line, while Ewan, despite a fast finish, took a longer route, and never looked like closing the gap on his sprint rival.

For Bennett, the win represented his first victory of the season. As for Dekker, the results represented his best ride in the WorldTour. The young Dutchman picked up intermediate sprint points throughout the day and was unfortunate to be caught behind Bennett’s change of direction in the final 200 metres. The Jumbo-Visma rider cut a frustrated figure at the line but already looks comfortable at this level.

“It’s really good to have won because I had to wait a few day to get the opportunity,” Bennett said at the finish.

“I was really nervous before the sprint. It was my first bunch sprint of the season. Fortunately, I only had to follow the guys. They did as fantastic job, each one of them. It’s great to finish it off today. This is my 50th pro win, it’s really nice to get that first win of the season. I could see they were going to the right and the right was the shortest line, but I couldn’t risk going up and having to hit the brakes, so I had to go the longest way around. Fortunately, I could carry enough speed.”

In the battle for the minor places, Elia Viviani (Cofidis) showed signs that he is coming back to form with fourth place, while Matteo Moschetti (Trek-Segafredo) rounded out the top five.

Ackermann, Phil Bauhaus, Giacomo Nizzolo, Fernando Gaviria and Kaden Groves all had supportive lead-out trains but were forced to settle for places inside the top 10.

How it unfolded

After the excitement of crosswinds, a time trial and a summit finish, it was time for the UAE Tour to revert to type and provide a more typical sort of desert racing. That meant long stretches of flat roads with little in the way of action as the race transitioned between barren scenery of the dusty desert and the wealth of the Gulf and the country’s stunning status-based architecture.

Stage 4 was the longest of the race covering 204km and young Dekker picked up the first intermediate sprint of the day. There was a brief glimpse of life from the main field when Ineos, Deceuninck-QuickStep and Bora-Hansgrohe sensed an opportunity to split the peloton in the crosswinds as gusts gathered pace from the left. The action was short-lived, however, as the direction of the race changed and the peloton gently eased back on the throttle.

With little else to report, Francois Bidard (AG2R Citroën) and Olivier le Gac (Groupama-FDJ) proved cameos of token heroism by breaking away inside the final 90km and establishing a two-minute lead, but their efforts were cut short inside 28km to go as the bunch finally stirred from their slumber.

The GC contenders keenly followed their trains along the wide and expansive roads but as the sprinters’ teams began to collectively organize their efforts the pace began to build.

Inside the final 10km, Astana and Bahrain tried to enforce some control but it was the home team UAE Team Emirates who hit the front with 4.5km to go and truly put the hammer down as they looked to both protect Pogacar and position Gaviria. The pinch point, however, came with 2.7km to when the race navigated a huge roundabout. Teams used the road furniture to slingshot riders to the front and as they peloton exited the final corner Roger Klugge found himself on the front and looking around as he tried to find Ewan.

With 2km to go Bennett’s lead-out began to make their move – they are possibly the best in the world when it comes to timing – and while Israel Start-Up Nation gave us a quick glimpse of Andre Greipel in third wheel, it wasn’t long before Bora-Hansgrohe and Team DSM opened proceedings. Bennett used patience and cunning to wait for his opening and when it came the result was never in doubt.